TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Police Department is looking for a woman accused of hitting a man on a scooter with her car before driving away.
The hit-and-run crash happened at 4:41 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 12, in the area of N. 15th Street and E. 26th Avenue near Ybor Grocery.
A video released by the police department shows what is described as a gold Toyota Rav 4 hit a man on a motor scooter. The driver, who police say is a woman, is seen stepping out of the car before getting back inside and speeding away.
It was 25-year-old Jonathan Fitzcharles on the scooter, who told 10 Tampa Bay that the whole incident was a blur.
"I saw she was approaching a stop sign pretty quickly, wasn't slowing down, wasn't slowing down," Fitzcharles said. "At that point, I was already going too fast. She blew the stop sign."
Surveillance video obtained by his family shows the driver keep rolling forward, with Fitzcharles still under the car.
"She stopped, got out, went around the back side of her car. Saw me, looked me in the eyes, turned around, and got back in her car," he said. "No emotion, no anything. Like no remorse or anything like that. It was like she hit a stick or something."
Despite countless witnesses, the driver left the scene and left Fitzcharles with multiple serious injuries. He recalls being terrified after the crash, thinking he could die.
"I kind of see my leg. I can feel the rest and I'm screaming at myself, 'Am I going to die?' That's all I want to know," he said.
Now, as he recovers from hip surgery, still unable to walk, he wants answers.
"I definitely hope the police can find her or someone can just come forward. And I mean, I'm hoping ultimately she comes forward," Fitzcharles said. "I would love closure in some sense. Just to understand what was going on, what happened in that moment?"
Police describe the woman as being approximately 5 feet, 6 inches, and 160 pounds with long black braids. She was wearing a black T-shirt with white writing and blue jeans.
Investigators are working to gather more evidence and information to help with an arrest. Anyone with information on the hit-and-run crash is asked to call Tampa police at 813-231-6130 or contact Crimestoppers of Tampa Bay.